Epilation apparatuses serve for removing hairs, if possible inclusive of their roots. Known epilation apparatuses are designed, for example, such that the hairs are clamped between adjacent clamping elements and plucked due to a movement of the clamping elements relative to the skin. In order to ensure that the hairs are reliably plucked out of the skin and that the utilization of the epilation apparatus can be realized in a largely pain-free fashion, it is necessary to firmly clamp the hairs between the clamping elements. This can be achieved by pressing the clamping element against one another with a high contact pressure. However, the contact pressure that can be generated with a justifiable expenditure is limited. In addition, a higher contact pressure also results in a more substantial noise development of the epilation apparatus, and there is a higher risk of damaging the hairs so severely under the pressure of the clamping elements that they tear during the plucking process and are not removed in their entirety, if at all.
Other measures for reliably clamping the hairs during the plucking process are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,041,123 and 4,575,902.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,123 discloses an epilation apparatus that features a row of disks that are fixed on a hub in the form of a parallel arrangement. Thin plates are arranged between the disks and can be respectively pressed against the edge region of the adjacent disk. The contact surface between the disks and the plates can be roughened in order to reliably clamp the hairs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,902 discloses an epilation apparatus with a row of tight-fitting disks that collectively form a rotatable roller. During this rotation, the disks are respectively deformed in such a way that adjacent disks are pressed against one another, such that the hairs are clamped between the disks and plucked out of the skin due to the rotational movement. In order to prevent the clamped hairs from sliding out, the disks can be subjected to a surface roughening treatment. It would also be possible to produce grooves or other depressions or elevations on the surfaces of the disks.
The risk of the hairs sliding out of the closed clamping elements can be reduced by utilizing clamping elements with a roughened surface or a surface that features grooves or other elevations or depressions. Depending on the surface structure of the clamping elements, the percentage of torn hairs may, however, also increase in such instances because a surface with sharp-edged structures, in particular, can cause more damage to the clamped hairs.